Pathankot operation all botched up: Amarinder Singh

New Delhi: Punjab Congress chief and 1965 war veteran Amarinder Singh today attacked the government over what he alleged 'mishandling' of the Pathankot operation, and questioned the deployment of NSG instead of the Army, which he said is better in counter-insurgency.

He said that by bringing the National Security Guard (NSG) those at the helm may have certainly 'glamourised and romanticised' the operation but they have also ended up with 'more loss of precious lives of our soldiers'.

Even after the passage of seven days nobody is sure whether all the militants have been flushed out or not. We are as unsure and uncertain about the situation today as we were on the day one of the attack.

"Thanks to the total mishandling of the situation we have, by default, served the purpose of the perpetrators by allowing the operation to last unusually for longer duration," he said.

The former Punjab chief minister, who has also served in the Army and participated in the 1965 war against Pakistan, said, "By bringing in the NSG, instead of the army which has better training and expertise in counter-insurgency, those at the helm may have certainly glamourised and romanticised the operation but they have also ended up with more loss of precious lives of our soldiers."

In a statement, Singh said, the deployment of NSG got prolonged media attention "which is the main purpose of those who conceived and executed it". Amarinder also disagreed with the GOC Western Command Lt Gen K J Singh that it was right to deploy National Security Guard (NSG) to flush out militants instead of the Army.

Singh said the General appears to be defending the government decision for obvious reasons of being a disciplined soldier. "Even former Chief of Army Staff Gen V P Malik and other retired generals have been on record saying that army could have handled the situation better," he said.